You can recycle THAT?

Recycling's easy, right? You chuck newspapers, cardboard and plastic bottles in those green recycle bins and take it out to the curb once a week. What else can you do?

Turns out, PLENTY. You can recycle more than you think -- if you know how. Everything from VHS tapes and computers to wire hangers and those little packing peanuts. This article explains how to recycle anything.

My favorites:
-- Dead smoke detectors can be sent back to the manufacturer.
-- Old eyeglasses can be refurbished and sent to developing countries.
-- Radio Shack and Home Depot will be happy to take your rechargeable batteries.

The winner:
You know those old CDs you got laying around? Hell, seems like half the stuff we listen to is recycled crap anyway. Just send them to ACT Recycling and a team of disabled employees will recycle and sell 'em under the GreenDisk label. Send your used media to: Alternative Community Training, 2200 Burlington, Columbia, MO 65202, (800) 359-4607.

Read about how to recycle more stuff here.

Feel free to recycle this post too. Just send it along and it'll be good as new.

TODAY'S TURN: Buy with meaning

THE ISSUE:
When you buy a vase at an import store conglomerate, do you really feel connected to the fingers that actually touched the clay? When you pick up a fabulous bamboo chest at the mall department store, do you put much thought into the brains behind the beauty? Chances are, probably not.

That's not a dig, just human nature. It's natural for us to put more value into items that we feel connected to. That's why homemade trinkets mean more than store bought lavishness. It's why that crude little drum you bought on vacaton from a native Jamaican means more than finding a more polished version in the states. That personal connection holds huge amounts of value. Faceless products hold less value and we end up feeling detached from the very things we surround ourselves with.

THE GOOD TURN:
It's one of my new favorite stores. 10,000 Villages works with over 100 artisan groups in 30 countries around the globe to bring you handcrafted products directly from the artisans themselves. The company builds relationships with thousands of individual artisans and passes those relationships on to you. Distributors, shippers, wholesalers, retailers - none of them get in the way. It's just you and the person who made it. The artisan gets a fair price for their work and you get to learn more about who made that lovely sculpture that will soon be resting on your mantle.

10,000 Villages has 160 stores around the U.S. and a decent web site for browsing and buying. Toys, jewelry, wall hangings, even musical instruments, These are truly unique gifts - a deeper meaning comes free with each purchase.

Click here to do this Good Turn.